a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to enhanced multimedia television and more particularly to a system and method for organization, combination, transmission and reception of media from a range of sources wherein the media may comprise a plurality of video streams, audio streams, and other information, such as may be accessed via the Internet.
b. Description of the Background
The format of television programs often conforms to NTSC, PAL, or SECAM standards wherein a predefined bandwidth, i.e. channel, is employed to carry a single television program. Additional information that may be provided with a program has often been encoded into the vertical blanking interval (VBI), such as closed captioning or alternate language support, for example. As television broadcast formats move to digital transmission, many programs continue to be presented in a manner similar to ‘channel’ based television, comprising one video stream, a primary audio stream, and possibly an alternate audio stream.
Continued expansion of the Internet and high bandwidth networks provides access to an increasing volume of information. Adoption of digital transmission formats allows media such as audio, video, and metadata content, to be associated, combined, and presented to provide viewers with a richer and more diverse media experience. Methods such as MPEG7 provide for relating content information, but do not provide a method by which content of various formats may be grouped, transmitted and displayed. Therefore a new method of organizing, transmitting, and presenting media from multiple sources is needed.